1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to means and methods for configuring and testing devices and more particularly relates to apparatus, systems, and methods for automatically configuring and testing devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer systems and networks are seen throughout today's technological landscape and facilitate a large variety of social, economic, and educational goals. A computer network often includes two or more devices including a host device and a target device. Vital to the proper performance of most computer networks is ensuring each target device within the computer system is completely and accurately configured. Ensuring complete and accurate device configuration of a target device not only involves configuring the device, but also testing the device configuration.
When a target device is tested, typically the device is manually configured with a set of hardware and software configurations. Then, a host device often executes a test script to exercise the target device. Next, a user stops the test, manually reconfigures the hardware and software settings, and then starts the test again. In computer systems with multiple configurations or target devices, this substantially manual process is repeated until the testing has been completed on all the target devices. This can be a very complex and time-consuming process.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a non-automated configuration system 100 consistent with the aforementioned device configuration approach. The depicted configuration system includes a host device 110, a host terminal 120, a target device 130, and a target device terminal 140. The host device 110 can be any device configured to run tests on the target device 130. Typically, such host devices 110 can be servers running tests on clients, library controllers testing library subsystems, and host devices testing storage subsystems. Typically, users manually enter the test commands and device configurations at the terminals 120 and 140, and then initiate the tests from those terminals.
One disadvantage of the current art is that the process results in a sometimes error-prone configuration and testing process. As users configure and reconfigure hardware and software settings, they can make mistakes, especially when multiple configurations must be entered and tested on multiple target devices. In addition to being error prone, manual configuration is often inefficient as it necessarily involves human labor and extended periods of time to perform. Furthermore, testing a configuration or set of configurations often requires users to constantly monitor the testing process, further decreasing efficiency by requiring additional man power.
From the foregoing discussion, it should be apparent that a need exists for an apparatus, system and method for automated configuring and testing of target devices. Beneficially, such an apparatus, system and method would increase testing and configuration efficiency by decreasing the probability of human error, decreasing the overall configuration time, and decreasing the man power required to configure and test target devices.